Tuesday, May 9, 2017

The Essential Amish Cookbook from Lovina Eicher's Amish Kitchen

Publisher
Synopsis:

Join
Amish cook Lovina Eicher in her kitchen as she prepares recipes used
every day in countless Amish homes in Old Order Amish communities
across North America. Many of the more than 100 recipes are richly
illustrated with step-by-step photographs to help you learn Amish
cooking as if you were in Lovina's own kitchen. From hearty main
dishes to substantial sides – plus a generous sampling of
scrumptious cakes, pies, cookies, and other delectable desserts –
learn how to make the hearty simple dishes that the Amish cook
together and serve at home, church services, and weddings.

My
review:

This
is a beautiful cookbook exploring the recipes of Amish life. Lovina
learned to cook from her mother and has carried on the tradition. She
uses essential ingredients that every home would have on hand. The
recipes included are for hearty eaters and may be rather surprising
to modern cooks. Lovina uses lard. Yes, animal fat. Many of us grew
up eating it and turned out just fine. Lovina uses all white flour
(bread flour) in her bread recipes. Don't expect any whole wheat
recipes here. There is plenty of sugar used too. Her Apple Crisp
recipe has a total of 2 ½ cups of sugar in it!

There
were some surprises in this book. There is a recipe for Thick &
Chunky Salsa. I was surprised that it had brown sugar in it. There is
also a Venison Bake for those deer hunters out there. Some of the
recipes are basic, like making ketchup and relish.

I
always like to make at least one recipe when I review a cookbook. I
noticed that my rhubarb plant was flourishing so I decided to make
Lovina's French Rhubarb Pie. It was really sweet and a bit flatter
than I am used to. It contained 2 cups of rhubarb and I think next
time I'd increase it to 3 cups of rhubarb and decrease the sugar a
bit.

I
must add a little critique of the way the book is printed. Page
numbers are at center top. That made it harder to find the page numbers and recipes. I would have preferred page numbers on a corner. Also, some
fragrant chemicals were used in printing the book. People with
breathing issues from certain chemicals may have difficulty using
the book, as I did.

I do recommend the book to those who are interested in cooking and baking the way the Old Amish do today.

My
rating: 4/5 stars.

Blueberry Banana Bread Demo Video.

About
the Author:

Lovina
Eicher is the author of the syndicated column, Lovina's Amish Kitchen, which appears in 40 newspapers around the United States and
on a weekly blog maintained by her editors. She is the author of
several cookbooks. Lovina and her husband have eight children and
live in rural Michigan. (Note: Because Lovina is Amish, there are no
photographs of her.)

Books I've read

GoodReads Reviewer

About Me

I am a retired Christian bookstore owner of 33 years. I still love books and read as many as I can, blogging my reviews. I have also taken up photography and sell photos of Whidbey Island and nearby landscapes.